Christmas Eve & 7 months old!

It's Christmas Eve and Tyler is 7 months old today! He is changing more and more everyday. He isn't crawling yet but is very close... he gets up on all fours and rocks back & forth and also scoots on his belly. He is pulling up on things and loves to stand up while holding on. He loves his oatmeal and likes most of the baby foods we have given him... so far he just doesn't seem to like anything green! From what our moms have said, neither Jeff nor I liked green vegetables either. He tried green beans and sweet peas and didn't care for them. He really seems to like carrots and sweet potatoes. We can't believe 7 months have gone by!

We are in Michigan with Jeff's family for Christmas. We got here yesterday morning and the whole family came over last night for dinner. It was so much fun to see everyone and get all the kids together. They hadn't seen each other since we left in September... and boy have they changed- especially Kyle and Tyler! We are so excited to celebrate Tyler's first Christmas tomorrow with everyone!

Family visit!

Getting ready to see Santa!

Riding on the carousel for the first time!

Grandma gave me a lick of powdered sugar from her donut and I loved it!! Think I might have a sweet tooth like the rest of my family! :)

Mackenzie helping Tyler in the bath... :)

I love my Aunt Kristin!

Buddies!

At the park!

We walked over to the park a few times while everyone was here. It was a little chilly but we had fun- Tyler and Mackenzie both love the swings and we went on a few of the slides, too! Just wish it wasn't so cold or we would have gone more!

Christmas in Florida!

My parents, Kristin, Tim & Mackenzie came to Florida 2 weeks ago to celebrate Christmas with us since we are going to Michigan this year. We had so much fun with them and were sad to see them leave! It was so cold while they were here... a couple of nights it was in the 20's with a high in the 40's!! Not Florida weather! Tyler enjoyed opening the presents more than we thought he would... although all the paper went straight to his mouth! He is still having fun playing with all his new toys... he just misses having Mackenzie here to play with! Tyler and I are going to California after we get back from Michigan (Daddy has to stay here to work). Tyler's excited to help Mackenzie open all her birthday presents!!

Visiting Santa with my cousin Mackenzie!

Tyler had already been to see Santa but we thought it would be fun to get a picture with him and Mackenzie on Santa's lap. His individual picture turned out much better but it's still cute to have one with both of them.... even though they both look miserable! To be fair, we did have to wake Tyler up from his nap because Santa was going on his lunch break and they said they would squeeze us in... he was a little tired still! And Mackenzie isn't a fan of his unless she's looking at him from her mommy's arms!

Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach

While my family was here this past week we went to the Manatee Viewing Center. It is right down the street from where we live in Apollo Beach. When the water gets colder than 68 degrees the manatee gather in the warm water discharge canal of the power station. There were so many in the water but it was hard to get a good picture of the manatees. It was 40 degrees out and windy that day so we didn't stay too long- plus my family was on their way to the airport! It was very quiet in the house when Tyler and I got home. :(

If I'm not sleeping... nobody's sleeping!

That was definitely the case last night! Tyler has not been sleeping well since he got his 6 month shots last week. I was so excited because he had been sleeping from like 8pm/9pm until about 5am... and then he would go back to bed until about 8am. It was so nice!

Last night he was up every couple of hours and then at 3am he decided he was not going to sleep in his bed. He was sound asleep and the second I put him in his crib he started to cry and would not go back to sleep. I tried for over 2 hours and was getting nowhere. I finally gave in and he came to bed with me. We did not sleep well (Jeff or myself) so I don't plan on making that a habit.

Maybe his teeth are bothering him?!? We aren't sure but hopefully this doesn't last too long. When we were at his doctor's appointment last week she said he could be getting them at any time.

He's in bed right now and we are really hoping tonight is a better night... don't think it could be any worse!

First Time at the Pool...

Tyler went to the pool for the first time over Thanksgiving weekend. We walked over there with Jeff's parents when the weather finally warmed back up. He loved it! He didn't get all the way in because the water was a little cold (the heater wasn't working that weekend). He loved splashing in the water and playing with his toys. We were a little bummed that the water was cold... hopefully next time it will be warmer. I still haven't gotten to go down the water slide!

He loved watching the huge mushroom waterfall in the pool.

Jeff and his dad went kayaking while we were at the pool. There is a place in our community that has a place where you can rent kayaks. Our backyard is on a saltwater canal that leads out to Tampa Bay but some of the homes are on the freshwater lagoon. Jeff and his dad kayaked around the lagoon. It was such a great day to be out on the water...

When Jeff and Grandpa got back, Tyler was sound asleep... long day at the pool!

First Thanksgiving & Visit with Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit from Michigan for Thanksgiving. It was so fun to see them. They got here on Thanksgiving and left on Monday. Although we didn't have great weather everyday, there were a couple of really nice days. One of the days we walked over to a park near our house. It was Tyler's first time in a swing and he really seemed to like it!

Tyler and Grandma

Tyler is sitting on his own but we can't completely trust him not to topple over. He sits for quite awhile but he still tends to fall over after awhile. He has also started to pull up his knees and rock back and forth. He has done some scooting on his belly but no crawling yet.

Eating bananas for the first time.

He wasn't too sure at first but then he seemed to like them. After a few minutes of eating them, he got what looked like a red rash on both sides of his head. When he ate them again the following day, the same thing happened. He may have some kind of reaction to the bananas. His doctor said to hold off on them for about a month and then try mashing up a banana and giving him just a taste to see if he reacts to that. He has also had pears and apples and we haven't noticed any red marks or rashes. He really seems to like the apples and LOVES his oatmeal! Tonight he had 2 bowls of it!

Tyler and Grandpa

Tyler with Grandma & Grandpa

Visit with Santa and more Christmas pictures!

We took Tyler to see Santa last week and we actually got a smile from him. We weren't sure how he would do but he was great. I also took a few pictures when we got home. We can't wait for Christmas! We are going to Michigan this year and are so excited to see everyone again. My family is coming out next week and we are going to celebrate a little early with them. We really wish we were all closer and could spend it in one place! Tyler's still a little young but I think it's still going to be a lot of fun with him. (He had so much fun playing with the paper that lined the table in the doctor's office the other day- wait 'till he sees all the wrapping paper!)